It is often necessary to repair a painted surface, for example of a damaged object such as a portion of a vehicle body, machine, etc. or paint a replacement part with a color that will match the current color of a portion of the object, such as an undamaged body portion or part adjacent to the surface or part being repainted.
One prior art method utilized to select a suitable color is to hold a color card of a standard color or a painted panel next to or on top of an undamaged portion or part of the object and visually determine if a color is a suitable match. Several color cards may be utilized in order to determine the closest match.
Another prior color matching method is to spray a relatively small amount of a proposed matching paint or other coating composition onto the area being repaired or colored, after which it is determined whether the paint or composition matches the desired surrounding area. The procedure may need to be repeated multiple times before a suitable match is achieved. Additional methods and devices utilized in color matching include the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,692,481, 5,217,744, 5,254,192, 5,371,599, 5,833,649, 6,217,934, and 6,717,673.
In addition to the mentioned color matching approaches, various devices have been proposed to aid in determining compatibility between various colors utilizing windows in a template.
A device from PPG Industries of Pittsburgh, Pa. labeled a “Color Checker” is also known in the art. The device includes a flexible magnetic template having two rectangular windows each measuring approximately 9.9 cm in length and 8.1 cm in height that are separated by a rectangular strip measuring approximately 1 cm in width. U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,553 discloses a paint color card having a substrate with a surface coated with a layer of a colored coating composition formulated to have a dried color that is substantially similar to the dried color of a commercially-available paint composition. The paint color card has a plurality of perforations at least partially defining a chip section that may be detached or folded over to form a window.
Other devices are known, for example stencils that include sheet-like materials including apertures therein, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,816,269, 6,056,419, 6,625,935, 6,227,989, 6,230,880, 6,647,693, 6,820,546, and 6,854,915.
In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide a quick, qualitative, visual method for a painter or surface finisher to compare a proposed matching color with a target or desired color and, in addition, to determine if special painting techniques such as blending or feathering would be necessary. It would be additionally desirable to provide a painter with a method and device that allows for comparison between a proposed matching color and at least two different areas of the object to be matched, each including a target color.